Committee on Design

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  • 1.  Measuring design excellence

    Posted 06-21-2011 08:48 AM
    In response to Sean Catherall (and I loved the poetry skit), measuring design does not have to be a constraint on creativity (which I think is Sean's concern).  DQI was an attempt to rescue design from the suffocating obsession with budget and schedule that seems to dominate so much of our project delivery process.  The ideas was that design, having its own metric, would gain equal status in discussions of project delivery.  What is key about the DQI was that there is no standard definition of excellence - it has to be defined by the stakeholders at the outset of each project, and then actively maintained as a project goal duirng the delivery process.

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    David Burney FAIA
    Commissioner
    NYC Dept of Design and Construction
    Long Island City NY
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  • 2.  RE:Measuring design excellence

    Posted 06-22-2011 01:32 PM
    From some of the comments, I am getting the feeling that my comments about the awards programs are being misconstrued.  I never requested, nor do I seek or even feel important, the establishment of some sort of comprehensive criteria for design excellence.

    For over thirty years of practice and AIA involvement, I have listened to an almost non-stop lament that the public does not understand architects nor appreciate what we actually do or why what we do is really important.  I have also noted over the same period of time, the on-going perception by many components of the importance of our design awards programs as a tool to help build this understanding.  Having watched these efforts for a long time, I can say without much hesitation, that they are pretty miserable failures in this regard.

    What I do seek are the means to make our awards programs more effective in communicating the importance of design and why the awarded projects are viable examples of design excellence.  

    I regard this as very important - something that if we don't get a handle on will doom us to continuing to doing the same thing over and over again, year after year, somehow expecting different results.

    My best regards

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    Stephen Loos FAIA
    Principal
    The Mulhern Group Ltd.
    Lyons CO
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